1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an assembly for mounting a doctor blade, such as is used in connection with the roll or cylinder in a paper making machine or other machine for making webs of fibrous material or in laminating, coating or printing machines.
2. The Prior Art
In order for a doctor blade to function effectively, it should be in uniform contact with the coacting roll or cylinder throughout the length of the roll or cylinder, and the blade should be capable of accommodating itself to a crowned or cambered roll or cylinder irrespective of any sagging or distortion to which the blade-mounting assembly may be subject. It is also preferable that provision be made for quickly adjusting a blade in its mounting assembly to its optimum setting with regard to the condition of the material being doctored from the roll or cylinder. A further preferred requirement of a doctor blade and its mounting assembly is that the passage of paper or pulp removed by the blade should not lead to blockages between adjacent rolls or cylinders.
In a typical previous proposal for a doctor blade mounting system a number of "fingers" bear down on the blade, urging it onto the coacting cylinder or roll. Each finger is freely and independently pivotally mounted on a rigid common pivot shaft running parallel to the axis of the coacting cylinder. In order to afford a system of clamping the blade firmly and of averaging out the clamping force exerted by the fingers, it is common practice to provide continuous plates interposed between the doctor blade and the fingers. However, this limits the degree of distortion required of the doctor blade in order that it may accommodate itself adequately to the crowning or distortion of the coacting cylinder.